Hey everyone. After inheriting a bunch of old records, I started dipping my toes into this whole vinyl thing and… I think I’m hooked. I’d like to step a bit farther into this, but the deeper I get the more there seems to be to read up on. I’m beginning to get a little paralyzed by it, so I thought I’d ask for some direction from more wizened vinyl-loving elders.
I initially had one of those little suitcase players with the garbage tinny speakers. Then I got some self-powered speakers that greatly improved my willingness to use the device. Especially for old records that haven’t been particularly well cared for, when I was already accepting some pop and static, that made me start using it more. Then I upgraded the turntable to an Audio-Technica one - one of their entry-level budget-type devices - and that made me go all in.
So at this point, I have a collection of over 200 records, new and old, and I almost exclusively listen to them these days when I’m in my office. The stylus that came with the turntable wore out, so I bought a new one, upgrading to a microlinear stylus. Sounds fantastic.
But now I want some passive speakers that I can control through my receiver, and I’m finding that to be a more expensive item with a lot of options I don’t really know how to parse through. So that’s a good place to start. What’s a good set of small-ish passive speakers (to fit on or near the shelf I have the turntable on) that a guy can buy on a budget?
I have also noticed a lot of static and pop and… “sparkle”? on even brand new records. This I attribute to static electricity. I live in northern Colorado, the air is exceedingly dry here, and I can hardly walk across a room lately without picking up enough static to power my house through the winter. I have some anti-static inner sleeves that are nice, but they don’t really get rid of the charge on the records. There seem to be a ton of different products for taking that out, but it’s hard to know what the best thing is to buy, and some of it gets quite expensive pretty quick.
What else am I missing that will improve my vinyl collecting and playback experience? Best ways to clean old records? Take the warp out? Things I don’t even know I need to know yet?
How much do you want to spend on speakers?
That’s hard to say. Some of the things that come up when I search around for “top lists” of that sort of thing are in the $500-1000 range, which was more than I was expecting. I’m willing to spend that, I think, but it’s probably going to push it lower on my priorities as I’m pretty happy with the sound as-is. I’m sure it could be better, but it’s certainly not bad. I don’t know that I’m enough of an audiophile to tell the difference.
If you are handy and willing to put in a bit of work, you might look at these: HiVi-Swans DIY 3 Way Passive Bookshelf Speakers Pair - DIY Speaker Kit-Peak Power 120 Watt Home Theater Bookshelf Speakers for Surrounds or Front https://a.co/d/bxErz1T They are a bargain and are highly rated. There are videos on YouTube of people assembling them and they are complete including grill and vinyl wrap.
I have heard these are good and not too expensive. Sony SSCS5 3-Way 3-Driver Bookshelf Speaker System (Pair) - Black https://a.co/d/fHk7V9r YouTuber Cheap Audio Man recommended them. You might check out some of his videos.
Speakers are the most important part of your rig, so you should pick out some good ones, but you don’t necessarily have to spend $500+. Anyway, just a couple of ideas. If DIY appeals to you you might check out the kits at parts-express.com.
That DIY one looks really fun. Do you know if that requires a soldering iron to construct?
edit: The pictures clearly show a soldering iron. This could be a good excuse to buy a soldering iron.
Yes, good excuse to buy tools! 🙂
haha, this sounded like too much fun, so I bought it. Thanks for the recommendation. Grabbed a soldering iron and some lead-free solder as well. I’ll make a post if/when I finish that.
Watch out for the low-end Weller irons on Amazon, they’re all knockoffs. You can still get legitimate Hakko irons and silver solder on there, thank goodness.
HiFi is filled with traps full of snake oil. A speaker can only sound “so good”. imo a pair of used passive speaker boxes in the range of 100…500 bucks will get you “very good” sound. People will disagree with my opinion, though. I believe it’s all about subjective preferences, convenience (smaller speakers need a bit more tuning and tricks to sound like the big ones), and brand tax.
If you’re happy with the current situation, why not keep your speakers until you hear a pair that gets you a sound profile you like better?
Because, being self powered, I can’t control them through my receiver. That’s the main reason.
I’ve had great luck with speakers hitting local pawn shops. I live near an Air Force base and a Navy base and it seems like when those folks get transfered, it happens quick, and they pawn some really great stuff. I scored a set of powered Audio Engine monitors for $150 and an older pair of JBL studio reference monitors for $75. That said, be careful with receivers/amps, especially if they are cheap cheap. Also test each output before you leave the store. Got a little burned on an older Onkyo that only 2 of the 7 outputs worked… One of the shops here offers a 7 day return for $20 extra and I ALWAYS get it.
Entry level bookshelf speakers you can find used for dirt cheap. Can try maybe Dali Spektor, Paradigm Titan, PSB Alpha, etc.
When you set up your turntable, you really need to make sure the balance and weight of your tonearm is calibrated, otherwise you will damage your vinyl and the music will lose all of its magic over time.
Been a while since I was on the market for one, but I still have my project debut carbon black with an ortofon red as my daily driver. It’s also crazy easy to grab a old Rega Planar series and restore it to drivable condition if your budget is slim.
I was living in Colorado when I had a Grado green cart on my table, and it picked up EMF like crazy. Turns out grado carts don’t have any shielding, so maybe look for a replacement that has some good grounding. Also, don’t forget to connect your ground wire to your preamp/receiver.
I just adjusted the tonearm when you mentioned it. It did seem way too heavy. I backed it off quite a bit and turned on a record, but it seemed too light. The bigger bass parts seemed to kick the stylus up slightly. It was still making contact, but volume dipped noticably for a moment after each “bump”. So I added a tiny bit of weight and it sounds better now. Is that about right? Just heavy enough to play the record?
If your up near the city there are plenty of HiFi places that can set you up. Peter Fisher over at the vacuum tube warehouse on Santa Fe in Denver is a freaking genius.
wizened means “shrivelled or wrinkled with age” , not “more wise”